INDIANAPOLIS — Presumed innocent or proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?
In "Presumed Innocent," prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal) is the prime suspect in the murder of his colleague and lover (Renate Reinsve).
Throughout the eight-episode limited series, there are characters fighting for and against Sabich.
"I think because my character starts in a place of hope, I think it's interesting to watch the way in which even her fate gets tested," said Nana Mensah ("Queen of Glory," "The Diplomat"), who plays Det. Alana Rodriguez and defends Sabich. "It was great. There was so much to play with, and obviously Jake is a great person to be in a scene with, so we had fun. We had a really good time."
Someone not on Sabich's side is the newly elected district attorney, Nico Della Guardia, played by Emmy nominee O-T Fagbenle ("The Handmaid's Tale," "The First Lady").
"One of the things I loved about being part of this show is all of the characters are multidimensional," Fagbenle said. "Everything switches around, so it's really fun watching the audience and all the characters figure out where they are."
The story is based on the 1987 book by Scott Turow, which was later adapted for a 1990 movie starring Harrison Ford. But if you haven't seen the movie or read the book at this point, don't do it so you can avoid spoilers while watching the series!
"The book is very rich and layered and really get the interiority of these characters and how they're feeling about things, and I think we get to visit that when we have eight episodes to explore," Mensah said.
New episodes of "Presumed Innocent," also starring Peter Sarsgaard, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp and Elizabeth Marvel, are released Wednesdays through July 24 on Apple TV+.